Amendment #101 to H5151

Affordability and Competitiveness Assessments

Mr. Sweezey of Duxbury moves to amend the bill by adding the following section:

"SECTION 1A. Chapter 21N of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:

Section 13. (a) All state agencies, departments, and authorities with jurisdiction over energy, climate, emissions, utilities, or building standards shall be subject to this section.

(b) No regulation, administrative action, program implementation, or policy issued to comply with statewide greenhouse gas emission limits or to advance clean energy goals shall take effect unless the entity has determined that such action will not impose unreasonable adverse impacts on:

(i) the affordability of energy or related costs for residential ratepayers, including low-income and fixed-income households; or

(ii) the operating costs or economic competitiveness of Massachusetts businesses, including commercial and small business customers.

(c) Prior to any such action taking effect, the agency or department shall prepare an affordability and competitiveness assessment that, at a minimum:

(i) identifies expected cost impacts on all ratepayer classes;

(ii) evaluates whether impacts are reasonable in light of projected benefits and funding;

(iii) considers cumulative impacts with existing requirements; and

(iv) consults with ratepayer advocates and business organizations.

(d) If the assessment identifies potential unreasonable adverse impacts, the agency shall either modify the proposed action to mitigate those impacts or adopt alternative compliance timelines or cost-containment measures.

(e) The assessment shall be made publicly available at least 30 days before final adoption or implementation.

(f) Failure to comply with these requirements shall constitute grounds for judicial review under chapter 30A

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #101 to H5151

Affordability and Competitiveness Assessments